Rice Products

The fermentation products of Monascus, especially those produced by solid-state fermentation of rice, have been used as food and health remedies for over 1000 years in China. Monascus rice products (MRPs) are currently being used as health foods in the United States and many Asian countries such as Japan, Taiwan, China, Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Many studies have shown that Monascus spp. produce commercially viable metabolites, including food colorants, cholesterol-lowering agents, and antibiotics. The most important bioactive compound isolated from Monascus is monacolin K, which is identical to the potent cholesterol-lowering, antiatherosclerotic drug lovastatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl 

Liquor Research Institute, Taipei 106, Taiwan, Republic of China 

Advances in Food and Nutrition Research, Volume 53 ISSN 1043-4526, DOI 10.1016/51043-4526(07)53004-4 

Monascus spp. have been used as foods and medicines in the Orient for over 1000 years (Wong, 1982). In China and Taiwan, it has been called Hong Qu, Hon-Chi, Anka, or Ang-kak using the Chinese or Taiwanese phonetic alphabet. The Japanese use the name Beni Koji or red Koji. In the United States and Europe, it has been called red rice, red-mold rice, or red Chinese rice. Many publications and commercial products use red yeast rice, which is not an appropriate name for filamentous fungi. 

FIGURE 1 The morphology of Monascus spp. observed under optical microscope (Panel A) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (Panel B). 

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World rice production has been increasing at approximately 7 million t/yr since 1950. Land use for rice production increased from 103 million ha in 1950 to 146 million in 1978. Since 1978 the acreage has remained fairly constant. The increase in production since 1978 has been the result of higher yields per ha (increasing from 2.58 in 1978 to 3.16 million t/ha in 1988). 

The three principal domestic uses for rice in 1988 were direct food (61%), processed food (18%), and beer (20%). The direct food use figure includes the conventional white milled rice plus specialty rice products (parboiled, precooked, aromatic, brown, and prepackaged mixes) shipped directly from the rice mills. The specialty products account for approximately one-fifth of the direct food use. Approximately two-thirds of the direct food use rice is ultimately distributed to consumers through retail outlets and one-third through food service outlets. 

J. E. Wimberly, "Storage Practices," in Meeting of Experts on the Mechanisation of Rice Production and Processing FAO, Rome, 1971, pp. 142—144. 

Somewhat analogous to these rice products is Oatrim, a material based on oat flour. It was developed at the Northern Laboratory of the USDA and is offered commercially by several firms. Oatrim contains 5% proteia, 5% P-glucan, 2% pentosans, and 83% maltodextrias. Unique properties are claimed based on the P-glucan component, and preparation of Oatrim is disclosed ia USDA pubHcations and patents. Briefly, oat flour is broken down by a-amylase, then the water-soluble component is dried and is the product of commerce, aimed at ground meat product usage. 

The role of carbon dioxide in the Earth s radiation budget merits this interest in atmospheric CO2. There are, however, other changes of importance. The atmospheric methane concentration is increasing, probably as a result of increasing cattle populations, rice production, and biomass burning (Crutzen, 1983). Increasing methane concentrations are important because of the role it plays in stratospheric and... 

Ponnamperuma, F.N. (1984). Role ofcultivar tolerance in increasing rice production on saline lands. In Salinity Tolerance in Plants Strategies for Crop Improvement, ed. R.C. Staples and G.A. Toenniessen, pp. 255-71. New York John Wiley. 

There are a number of methods that have been proposed to help prevent the loss of circulation fluid [1214]. Some of these methods use fibrous, flaky, or granular material to plug the pores as the particulate material settles out of the slurry. Examples are oat hulls [855], rice products [294,295], waste olive pulp [519], nut cork [654,1532], pulp residue waste [750], petroleum coke [1840], and shredded cellophane [296]. 

Rice is one of the most important and basic staple foods for about half of the world s population and provides over 20% of the global calorie intake. World rice production is projected to expand by 1.4% per year to 424 million tonnes by 2005, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). 

In key rice-producing regions in Asia, rice production is performed mostly in paddy fields where crop production has been highly sustainable owing to ... 

The application of pesticides to paddy fields represents a unique set of issues compared with many other use patterns. Agrochemicals used in rice production are introduced directly or indirectly into paddy water, and there are more opportunities for... 

Methane Emissions from Rice Production in the United States — A Review of Controlling Factors and Summary of Research... 

Keywords Methane, emissions, rice production, agriculture, soil texture... 

While numerous factors have been determined to impact CF14 emissions from rice cultivation, due to a general lack of field data, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEP A) currently uses a single emissions factor for all non-California-grown, primary rice crops [4]. Therefore, the purpose of this review is two-fold (i) discuss the factors known to control CH4 production in the soil and transport to the atmosphere from rice cultivation and (ii) summarize the historic and recent research conducted on CF14 emissions from rice production in the temperate United States. 

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